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OMG, you guys, what can we do to put ourselves on the map?
Ed Schipul, Creative Commons license Jay Walljasper had a feature on Minnpost yesterday, expressing concern that the Twin Cities (don’t call them that) of Minneapolis and St. Paul (too many syllables) don’t have a firm national identity other than that they’re cold in the winter. Walljasper continued his series today. Despite scads of stats showing…
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From the many, one mighty river to the sea
Slate shared this graphic of the tributaries of the Mississippi River. Here in northern Minnesota we’re well aware the river officially starts here, over in Clearwater County, flowing small and gentle through nearby towns like Grand Rapids and Brainerd. But if North America has one true river, it is this one. I also enjoy seeing…
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Northern MN ‘showboat’ tradition on Mighty Miss this weekend
You can still catch one of the coolest theater traditions of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, with this weekend’s closing performances of the Mississippi Melodie Showboat. Hometown Focus ran a lovely feature on the annual riverside music tradition in this northern town. You might recall that the boat sank last year. But don’t worry, they’ve got…
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This controversy is getting unBEARable
This is German bear propaganda. Source During the last Great Northern Radio Show we did a sketch that John Ramos wrote about bears. Specifically it was about a bear who, realizing that there was a web cam in her den, started hosting a television program. It was a parody, of course, of the famous live…
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What’s in a name?
Watching the nightly network newscasts this week has me wondering who really won the U.S. Revolutionary War some 235 years ago. Somewhere the ghost of Cornwallis smirks as Americans fawn over the heir to the British throne. A KING! HE WILL BE A KING! Despite our protestations those centuries ago, Americans then and now still…
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Ain’t no party like a Range nerd party cause a Range nerd party don’t (PUNCH) (BLEEDING)
How did I miss this? On July 17, Northland’s Newscenter reported on the fact that Popular Science named the Soudan Underground Mine as its top travel destination for nerds. (Attention media nerds, Northland’s Newscenter is a conglomeration of several formerly autonomous TV network affiliates in the Duluth, MN market). Feast your eyes on the story:…
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Hey Hey, Iron Range, time for the St. Louis County Fair
The St. Louis County Fair is this week, starting Thursday and running through Sunday at the fairgrounds in Chisholm. This is the “northern” St. Louis County fair, and I apologize for neglecting to discuss the southern one last week. The “North” is the Iron Range fair, the larger of the two, and the one that…
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From the junkyard; thoughts on movin’ on up
My sister Alyssa and I illustrate a heavy 1985 snow at Brown and Sons Salvage in McDavitt Township (Zim), MN. The “American Dream” is predicated on a simple concept. Unlike a lot of the 19th century European powers, America was to be a place where one could climb the ladder of social class based on…
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MN House select committee on jobs to visit Hibbing, Duluth
This looks kind of interesting. Press release from Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley): Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs to hold hearings in Duluth and Hibbing ST. PAUL, MN – The Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs will be making their first outstate stops of their interim tour where they will ask workers across the…
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Hail to Lake Agassiz, the mighty inland sea
This is my Sunday column for the July 21, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Hail to Lake Agassiz, the mighty inland seaBy Aaron J. Brown Living in the woods you get used to driving. You get used to complaining about gas prices, as though the 25 cent fluctuations common to any given summer…
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Trampled by Turtles ‘Alone’ to be featured in major film
Trampled by Turtles Yesterday, the northern Minnesota alt-bluegrass band Trampled by Turtles announced its hit single “Alone” is featured in the film “The Way Way Back” starring Steve Carell and Toni Collette. Here’s the film’s trailer. Looks pretty good: And, if you somehow missed it, here’s the Trampled by Turtles video for “Alone”: Related posts:…
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Unique story of underground mine radio show in Iowa
Photo / Martin Marietta Materials A longtime reader from Iowa, Fred Borgen, shared this story of a radio broadcast from an underground mine located under, of all places, the cornfields of his home state. I hadn’t heard about any mines in Iowa until this, and now I’m deeply upset that I haven’t done a radio…
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Catch me (but mostly music) at Miss. River Fest
This weekend Northern Community Radio is hosting its 9th annual Mississippi River Festival at the Rotary Tent near its studios next to Johnny Cash’s “Big River” in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They’ll be broadcasting the event on their airwaves as well, but nothing beats seeing the music live with the Mississippi River flowing behind the performers.…
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Free clinic available to low income people on the Iron Range
Project Care is a volunteer organization that provides a free clinic to residents of northern Minnesota’s Iron Range region who don’t have insurance or can’t afford medical care. I just recently became aware of this group as they announced that they are adding a clinic in Virginia to their existing ones in Ely, Hibbing and…
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RIP Steve O’Neil
St. Louis County Commissioner Steve O’Neil died today after battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer. O’Neil was known as one of northern Minnesota’s strongest advocates for the poor, the mentally ill, the homeless and the desperate. If you were the kind of person who had no connections, Steve was your connection. Prayers of peace…